1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a video camera, and a method of reproducing recorded information performed by the imaging apparatus or the video camera, and more particularly, to an imaging apparatus and a video camera that record an information signal on a recording medium as well as reproduce the information signal as recorded information, and a method of reproducing recorded information performed by the imaging apparatus or the video camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many conventional video cameras as an imaging apparatus are provided with a viewfinder for viewing an object image. The viewfinder includes optical types and electronic types (hereinafter referred to as “EVF”). Also, if a video camera having an EVF is employed, a reproduced image can be viewed on the main body of the camera only by displaying the reproduced image reproduced from a recording medium on the EVF. Since such viewfinders are adapted to be looked into, the image cannot be shared by a plurality of persons at a time.
Accordingly, video cameras equipped with a liquid crystal panel of a size more than 2 inches have been introduced in recent years, and now video cameras comprised of both a viewfinder and a liquid crystal panel as a unit, as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-9204, have been gaining in popularity. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 8-9204 also describes switching means for automatically turning off a liquid crystal panel and turning on an EVF when the liquid crystal panel is closed and automatically turning on the liquid crystal panel and turning off the EVF when the liquid crystal panel is opened.
On the other hand, as memory capacity and read/write speed of recording media increase as well as image compressing technology advances, video cassette recorders (VCRs) and video cameras for recording information on disk-shaped recording media such as DVD-RAM, MD, and HDD have been developed and marketed. Particularly, there has been developed a stationary VCR employing a HDD as a recording medium, which has a capability of reproducing already recorded images while recording without interrupting the recording operation, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-39850. Although this function cannot be achieved in conventional apparatuses using video tapes, it may be realized in apparatuses using certain randomly accessible disk media.
However, among the video cameras as described above in which both an EVF and a liquid crystal panel are provided as a unit, there is no such a video camera having an identical function to that of the above described stationary VCR employing a HDD, i.e., the function of reproducing already recorded moving images while recording images without interrupting the recording operation. Therefore, the development of a video camera having such a function is desired.